Ashen Hooves
by Dragaton
Summary: Ashley is suddenly plunged into the world of My Little Pony. She has to learn a whole new way of living, while trying to discover and destroy the evil force that is rising
1. Chapter 1

- ~Chapter 1~ -

Strange Happenings

"Come on, you're going to be late for school!"

I groaned and tucked the covers over my head as I heard my mom summoning me from the comfort of my bed.

After a couple moments of silence, I heard her shout, "Ashley Daisy, do you want me to come up there and turn on the lights?"

"NO! I mean, I'm coming!" I shouted back, scrambling out of my bed in haste.

After getting up from the covers, there was no turning back. I walked out my bedroom door and across the hallway, blundering into the walls from tiredness.

Turning on the bright light in the bathroom, I squinted against its glare.

After stumbling with sleepiness to make my bed and get dressed, I was soon down in the kitchen, looking for something to eat.

"Cereal?" Asked my mom, holding up the box of cheerio's.

I glanced at the box for a split second and said, "Sure, why not." I went into the cupboard and grabbed a bowl and spoon. I took the milk out of the fridge and sat down. Mom handed me the cereal. I muttered my thanks and poured it in.

Soon I was running out the door, slinging my backpack over my shoulders. "Bye Mom!" I called, stepping onto the bus. When I was on and the door was closed behind me, I went to my usual spot in the back. Sitting next to the window, I watched the country scenery as the bus started moving.

After a little while of staring out the window, we finally arrived at school. I jumped out after the stream of people leaving the bus, heading towards the main entrance. Pushing my way through the crowd, I got a few grumbles from the people I accidently bumped too hard. I had to mumble "Excuse me" every time I did, which was about fifteen times.

When I was finally walking through the doorway of my math classroom, the bell had just rung. I quickly sat down in my seat. A couple moments later, my name was called. "Here," I responded.

When we started, I only ended up listening to the first few sentences. "Today we're going to learn about organizing data…"

Lost in thought, I didn't listen to the rest.

As I sat in my seat for an hour or so, being bored to death, I wished there was a sleeping school. We'd get to take naps between classes, discuss the best ways to get to sleep, learn how sleep works, and debate on what bed and pillow brands were best. It would be the best; definitely better than boring old school.

When lunch was finally here after long, boring hours of different classes, I quickly selected my food and sat down at a table in the corner. I picked up my sandwich and took a big bite. Being a loner, nobody usually sat by me. Come to think of it, nobody really noticed me much, not even enough to pick on me. The only time I was noticed was when I did something wrong, like when I got caught drawing during one of my classes.

The sandwiches today were better than usual; tuna salad. I quickly demolished my sandwich and started working on the potato chips. I glanced across the room at a boy who was just getting his food. His name was Cory. He was the only other one who even seemed to notice me.

As if my thoughts had summoned him, he walked across the room to my table and sat down. "Hey, Ash. How's it going?" He asked, with a smile.

"Pretty good, but I'm still dying of boredom in classes."

"Heh, same here." He said, smiling wider. After a couple moments of silence and picking through our food, he looked at me with a serious face. "Could you do me a favor?" He asked.

"Sure, what is it?" I asked in confusion at his sudden change of mood.

"I feel a bit awkward saying this, but be careful. I heard there have been quite a few bad happenings around here lately."

"O-okay," I said, feeling even more awkward.

"Oh, and if anything… Strange happens, call me, okay." He said, looking deep into my eyes, as if he were searching them for something.

"What kind of strange are you talking about?"

"Oh, nothing," He said, his smile returning.

I felt a bit baffled by his sudden changes in mood, along with his strange request, but it soon fell to the back of my mind as the rest of the day went by in a blur.

Later that evening, I arrived home on the bus. After waving bye to everyone, I turned to my house. I walked up to the door and slithered inside, tired from my long day. After calling out that I was home and going upstairs to put my backpack in my room, I went out the back door into the yard. I plopped about a couple yards from our maple tree, right on the edge of its shade. This being Arizona, the weather was always warm, even during the school year. So there I was, completely unaware of what would happen next.

As I laid there in the warm sun, the feathery grass tickled my skin, but I didn't mind. I soon fell into a doze, when suddenly I was woken by a loud twig snapping. I lifted my head. The sky was cloudy, the country dead silent. Not even the birds were chirping.

Thinking that was a bit odd, I looked around. Suddenly, I spotted it; a pony, maybe an inch taller than I. Not a pony; a unicorn. It had a horn right up on top of its head. Its coat was jet black with almost a purple kind of shine. Its mane and tail were long and scarlet, with darker streaks throughout them. The eyes were a startling red. And those eyes… Those eyes… Were looking straight at me.

I stood up slowly, and started backing towards the house. The pony's nostrils flared, and it put its head down, scratching its hoof in the dirt.

I kept backing towards the house.

Suddenly, the pony charged.

I ran towards the house.


	2. Chapter 2

- ~Chapter 2~ -

Going Insane…?

As I ran as fast as I could towards shelter, I looked back. The pony was right behind me. _How did it get so clo-_

I barely had time to think before I tripped on a stone and fell on my side. The breath was ripped from me as I hit the ground. I looked up at the pony that was bearing down on me at 30 mph.

I didn't exactly have time to think at the moment, but in the back of my mind, I was thinking something like _"Tuna. Bad. Going insane."_

Anyway, I laid there for a split second when suddenly, another pony came out of nowhere, hitting the dark pony in the ribs and knocking it out of the way. I could barely process what was going on as I watched the other pony, a silvery blue pony from what I could see, pummeling my attacker with its hooves.

_What's going on?_ I thought as I watched the two of them battling.

All of a sudden, a bluish purple ring opened in a burst of light in front of the maple tree. But when you looked through it, it wasn't a tree you could see, but, in the distance across some rolling hills, a town. I looked at it, fascinated and confused.

Suddenly the silvery pony broke away and spoke to me, huffing from being out of breath. "Ashley, run into the portal!"

"First tell me what's going on! And how do you know my name?" I asked, now thoroughly confused.

"Just do it! I'll tell you when we're there!"

"Where's that?" I asked challengingly.

"Look, I just saved your life and I'm battling to the death right now, the least you could do would be to trust me!" The male pony puffed, sounding very irritated and impatient, worn out from getting slammed in the chest multiple times.

The dark pony was recovering, and started charging at me.

When I hesitated, the silver pony sighed loudly and rushed at me, spreading his wings to flight.

Yes, I said wings.

'He' was a pegasus.

For the second time that day, my breath was knocked from me as the pegasus not-so-gently picked me up. He flew straight at the portal, which closed up the instant we were through.

The world went black.

I woke up to the chirp of birdsong.

My whole body hurt, I had a large stomach ache, and I was hungry. Ah, yes, the perfect way to start your first day in a new world.

I groaned. The pegasus must have heard, because he instantly came over to my side. "How do you feel?" He asked.

"Like I was turned inside out, toasted over a fire, and turned back right side in."

"Not bad, considering what just happened," he said, looking me over.

"What did just happen?"

He glanced at me, a trace of worry in his gaze. "See for yourself."

He backed away from a puddle that was behind him.

I scooted up to the puddle and almost had a heart attack.

That couldn't be me, could it?

I tilted my head. The reflection did the same. I took my hand and put it in front of my face to see.

A hoof. My hand was a white hoof.

I felt a panic coming on me. What was going on, where was I, why did I look like a pony? I scrambled away from the puddle, stumbling over my hooves. I tried to run away, but I kept tripping. At this point in time, I was having an argument with myself. It went something like this: _This has got to be a dream. That's all this is; just a different sort of nightmare that I'm not used to. It couldn't be real. No, it's not real. But it is. It couldn't be a dream. I wouldn't think of something this crazy. Would I?_

This proceeded for around fifteen minutes or so, until I got so tired of stumbling all over the place and finally sat down. Even this was a bit awkward for me, but it was better than blowing my mind to pieces trying to comprehend how this even happened.

As I sat there, trying to keep myself from going insane, I asked the pegasus, "So, who are you anyhow?"

The silvery pony looked up at me in surprise. "I would have thought you'd have guessed by now," he commented.

I thought back to when I was in school, about the only one who would talk to me, the one who had warned me of strange happenings. "You're Cory, aren't you?" I asked, pretty much knowing what the answer was. Somehow, it wasn't a surprise to me. _Ashley, after what you just witnessed, why not?_ I thought to myself

"Yup that's me," He said with a subtly familiar grin.

I grinned back. "Should've guessed," I said.

Cory glanced off into the direction of the town. "We should probably start on our way to Ponyville, but first you need to learn a bit about your new body," he said, looking back at me.

I chuckled. "Yeah, I probably do need to learn how to walk without falling over myself," I said.

"Yes, that's one thing. But I'm guessing you want to know why you're even an allicorn in the first place," he said, looking at me questioningly.

"Yes, that's true… Wait, an allicorn?" I asked. "I thought I was a pony…"

"You are. At least, you're a unicorn and pegasus combined. That's what an allicorn is," he said matter-of-factly.

"Oh," I said, not knowing what else to say.

After a couple moments of awkward silence, Cory said, "Anyways, the reason you turned into an allicorn is because there's no such thing as humans in Equestria. However, humans always have a counterpart pony version of themselves that they'll be turned into if they ever come here."

"That makes sense… I think," I said, rubbing my head. I looked up from the ground. "So this land is Equestria?" I asked, changing the subject so that I didn't get more of a headache than I already had.

"Yup," he said.

"Cool," I said, once again lost for words.

Cory looked at me with the start of a smile on his face. "You ready to begin flight lessons?" He asked.

I smiled. "Why not…"


	3. Chapter 3

- ~Chapter 3~ -

Flight Lessons

In an instant, Cory was in the sky, flying in place.

"You ready?" He asked, looking down at me.

"No problem. I can barely even walk, let alone fly, but no problem," was my sarcastic reply, though my eyes were sparkling.

I stood up, took a couple of stumbling steps, and spread out my wings. It surprised me how natural it was to do that. I tried flapping them. It didn't really take me off the ground, but it still made a breeze.

Cory flew down and landed in front of me. "Lesson #1," he said, winking. "No stunts until you're ready. I don't want you crashing into a tree or something," he grinned.

"Oh? And I suppose you never did any daring stunts before you were ready?" I flashed back at him.

"I admit, I did do some stupid things pretty early, but, well, let's just say they didn't end well," he said.

"Fine, I won't do anything crazy…"

"Good," he replied. "Now, spread out your wings, as far as they'll go."

I spread them out, stretching them until I felt pain dancing down their feathery tips. Wincing, I asked, "Will it always hurt this much?"

Cory laughed. "No, you just need to stretch them. Just like any muscle in your body, they'll be sore for a while after you've used them for the first time."

I paused for a moment. "What's next?" I asked.

"Next, you need to practice flapping your wings while on the ground. Once you get used to the motion, it'll be easier to fly," said Cory, giving a demonstrational flap of his wings.

I gave my wings a light flutter, and then flapped them a bit more. Suddenly, I had an idea.

Go ahead, call me stupid for doing this, but I wasn't exactly thinking logically at the time.

I jerked forward on my clumsy hooves, and stretched my wings, flapping them as hard as I could. I felt myself lifting off the ground

"HEY!" yelled Cory, as he watched me lift off the ground in a clumsy whirl of wings, hooves, and feathers.

For a moment, I thought I had it. That is, until a huge burst of wind knocked me out of the sky and sent me tumbling down the steep, grassy hill that we had been standing on. Rapidly, I rolled down the hill, towards the small town I had seen earlier.

Every couple seconds, I would see Cory swing into view as I tumbled uncontrollably. He was running down the hill after me. "ASHLEY!" he yelled, annoyance in his voice.

But, of course, I couldn't stop myself. I wasn't familiar with my new form, and couldn't find a grip with my hooves, which now had grass stains all over them. I could only guess what the rest of me looked like.

As I tumbled down the bottom of the hill, I saw the blurry figures of buildings whirl past me. I slowed down and soon brought myself to a stop, right in the very middle of the town. As I tried to find my composure, I heard whispers all around me, and saw colorful, blurry figures walking closer.

"She just tumbled…"

"…wings _and_ a horn?"

"…couldn't be…"

"…doesn't look like royalty…"

I half-consciously listened to the mutterings around me. Feeling beaten and bruised, I attempted to blink the blurriness from my eyes.

"What's going on here?" called a female voice. I watched as a fuzzy purple shape pushed its way through the crowd. The pony's mane was dark purple and had dark pink streaks through it. As my eyes began to focus, I noticed her horn.

_Great_, I thought. _Another unicorn._

The unicorn pushed through the last of the crowd. She spotted me in the center of the ponies, and a startled look of bewilderment flickered in her gaze. However, it was gone a moment later, causing me to doubt that I had really seen it. Plus, another moment, and she was standing over me with anxiety in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked, concern in her voice.

The most I could do was groan.

She looked up from me. "This pony is hurt," she said, glancing at all the ponies who had gathered nearby.

_Well, duh_, I thought, feeling my body ache.

"I will take her to the library until she is feeling better," the unicorn said.

That sentence woke me up; more or less. I felt myself on the verge of panic. Here was this strange pony – er, unicorn – who was about to take me who-knows-where in a strange land that I knew virtually nothing about.

_Where's Cory?_ I thought frantically. I tried to stand up, only to fall back to the ground in dizziness and pain.

The purple figure quickly rushed to my side, whispering, "Calm down. You've had quite a tumble, and you are in no state to stand, let alone walk off on your own."

All of a sudden, I felt a strange sensation prickle through my body. I felt myself lift gently off the ground and onto the unicorn's back. For a moment, I saw her horn glowing, and then stop when the sensation ended.

"Wha-" I started. But I didn't finish; I was too tired to try to speak. I had no idea where Cory had gone, or what was going to happen to me, but I was too weak to care anymore. I seemed to hear the mutterings and whispers of the town from far away as I felt the unicorn's stride beneath me. I once again attempted to blink the blurriness, which was now increasing, from my eyes. Of course, I failed. So instead, I closed my eyes.

The rhythmic steps beneath me soon lulled me into a doze. I was resting quietly until we arrived at 'the library'. The unicorn walked in, and I once again felt the strange sensation and was gently placed on the floor.

I listened as footsteps pattered down a staircase. "What happened to _her_?" a new voice asked; it was a male.

"She apparently took an unexpected tumble down a rather steep hill outside of Ponyville," replied the unicorn. I watched as a new shape came into sight.

The blurriness had now cleared from my eyes, and I could see this new figure clearly.

He was a small, purple dragon with green eyes, and large, green scales sticking out of the top of his head and back. He stood on his back legs, allowing me to see his light-green stomach.

"What are you going to do with her, Twilight?" he asked.

The unicorn, apparently named Twilight, replied, "We're going to clean her up and let her rest. It definitely seems like she needs it."

Gathering my strength, I got shakily to my feet – er, hooves – and tried to look stronger than I really was. "So your name is Twilight?" I asked the unicorn, a challenge in my voice.

She glanced up from the dragon. "Yes, my name is Twilight Sparkle, and this is my assistant, Spike." Spike waved. "Hey there," he said, smiling at me.

"If you're up to it, we'll get you cleaned up now, and then you can go rest for awhile," said Twilight, looking politely at me.

I stared. Then I realized that they were waiting expectantly for me to respond. "Oh. Uh, sure," I said hastily.

"Good," replied Twilight, leading me up the stairs and into a bathroom. She turned on the tap for the bathtub in the corner and put in some soap. "If you need anything, just call for me or Spike," she said, walking out the door and shutting it behind her.

I watched as the water rose in the tub, and then attempted to turn it off. It took me a couple times, but I finally got the handle to turn and shut off the water before the tub overflowed.

Next, I had to find a way into the tub without slipping on my hooves. This wasn't very difficult, but still took some concentration.

Finally, there came the greatest challenge; trying to actually _clean_ myself. I tried, unsuccessfully, to pick up a sponge with my hoof, and eventually had to pick it up with my mouth. I scrubbed every place I could reach, tasting the soap and water through the sponge every time it squeezed against my sides.

After about an hour, I was finally done. I unplugged the tub after a couple tries, and turned back on the water to rinse myself. I got out and dried myself the best I could, and was soon feeling better than I had since that afternoon, before all the strange occurrences had started happening.

Before I went back downstairs, I looked in the mirror for the first time. I saw that my mane was a fiery orange and yellow color, with waves and ripples throughout. My eyes were the same orange as my mane, and my muzzle was a light, creamy color. My horn and wings were both the same bright white as my body. On my flank, I could see an orange mark that looked like a flaming meteor.

_That's odd_, I thought. But then, thinking back, I remembered that all of the ponies I'd seen had a mark on their flank. Twilight had a star-like mark on her flank, and I vaguely remembered Cory having a mark as well.

With that, I walked downstairs to find Twilight at a desk reading some book or other. She was turning the pages with the same power she had used to pick me up; her horn, as well as the page she was turning, shone with a purple-ish glow.

The unicorn soon noticed me. "Good, you're finished," She said, standing up. "Maybe you can tell me now where you've come from."

I shifted nervously on my hooves. "Er, well, that's the thing," I said, my gaze darting around the room. "I'm not from around here."

Twilight laughed. "I'm not from around here either, yet here we are."

"That's not exactly what I meant," I said.

She looked at me hard, yet polite, as if studying my expression. "Then what _do_ you mean?"

I held her gaze for a moment, until I couldn't any more. I lowered my eyes to study the wooden floorboards. "I-I can't tell you. Not yet," I said.

She studied me for a moment longer, and then turned away. "Very well. You can tell me when you're ready."

I breathed out slowly. Then, I braced myself and replied cautiously, "But I do have a friend who I'd like to see."

"Oh?" asked Twilight, turning her head. "What's their name?"

"Cory," I said.

She frowned. "I've never heard of anyone named Cory in Ponyville," she said, puzzled.

"He came with me," I said quickly.

"I see."

"Can't we find him? He's probably still at the top of the hill I fell down," I replied.

Twilight walked to the door. "If he isn't there, we can ask around," she said. "I'm sure someone has seen him."

I sighed inwardly with relief. I would feel much better to have someone nearby who was the least bit familiar.

"Spike!" Twilight suddenly shouted to her assistant, causing me to jump.

The small dragon came rushing down the stairs. "Yes?"

Twilight paused, turning to me. "What was your name?" She asked.

"Ashley."

"Ashley and I were just going to go look for her friend, Cory. We'll be back soon," She called to Spike, opening the door.

"Well, have a safe trip!" He called, waving from the top of the curving, wooden staircase.

We walked out the door and into the evening light of Ponyville.


	4. Chapter 4

- ~Chapter 4~ -

The Search

We trotted at an even pace down the road. By now, I could walk pretty well with my new hooves. I stumbled only occasionally, and I was finally getting used to walking on four legs.

Walking down the street, we kept our eyes peeled for Cory. The sun was low in the sky, causing the surrounding hills to cast long shadows on the town. Flecks of red and orange lit the horizon, and the moon could be seen rising in the other direction.

A few ponies were walking around the town, happily going about their own business. Occasionally, when a group spotted me, they would stop and whisper quietly amongst themselves, casting quick, wary glances at me.

"Are the ponies around here _always_ this suspicious of new arrivals?" I asked, a few minutes after we had started out.

"Not usually," replied Twilight. "It's probably because you're an alicorn."

"Isn't that normal?" I asked, puzzled. Cory hadn't mentioned anything about an alicorn being unnatural.

Twilight glanced at me. "Usually, the only alicorns in Equestria are princesses."

I halted in my tracks. "Then how could I be an alicorn? I don't know how I could have royal blood or anything, considering where I'm fro-" I froze in the middle of my sentence. Letting my gaze drop to the ground, I felt my skin prickle with the secret that I carried of my true identity.

I could feel Twilight's gaze on me, questions burning in her mind. But instead of speaking, she turned away, resuming her walk. I followed.

Twilight seemed like a trustworthy pony, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her everything. I would wait until we found Cory; he would know what to do. After all, he'd obviously been here before.

Guilt gnawed at my conscience as we approached the hill where I'd had my unfortunate accident. If I hadn't been so stupid, neither Cory nor I would be in this mess.

_Oh, Cory_, I thought. _Please let us find you soon._

However, as we walked up the hill, a sinking feeling told me what I had already suspected. We reached the top of the hill to find no sign of Cory. Shame washed over me once again. I padded back down the hill, Twilight walking behind me. As if sensing my despair, she spoke up, "Don't worry, we'll find him. I know somepony who has probably seen him."

I glanced gratefully at the unicorn, feeling a little better.

As we trotted back into Ponyville, I glanced up at the sun. It was now almost completely hidden behind the hills on the horizon, glowing red and casting its light on the surrounding land and sky. We didn't have much time to continue our search for Cory; however, I wasn't ready to give up yet.

We soon arrived at a very… Different-looking house. It practically looked like a gingerbread house, with its pastel-yellow walls, bright pink windows, brown "frosting" roof with white edges, and a small tower in the middle with a pink roof. It had wide, magenta steps leading up to the pink, pony-sized door.

Twilight walked right up to the door and knocked with her hoof. I glanced at a nearby flowerbed, looking up as the door opened to reveal an aqua-blue pony. The front of her pink mane was sticking up in a frosting-like manner. She wore a yellow apron-like vest with pink ruffles on the sides, as well as a pair of pink pearl earrings. She had three cupcakes on her flank. "Hello, Mrs. Cake," said Twilight. The aqua pony greeted her gleefully. "What a pleasant surprise! Please, come in," she said, backing up to give us space to walk through the door. A look of surprise flashed across her face when she noticed me walk in behind Twilight.

"Oh! I didn't know we had a new pony in town. Welcome to Ponyville!" she said, warmth in her voice.

"Thanks," I replied. By now, I was pretty much used to the fact that ponies could talk in this world. Although, I wasn't exactly sure that any of this was even real in the first place; it seemed real enough, so I just went with it. Even if it wasn't real, then it wouldn't make a difference when I woke up, assuming I was dreaming.

"Now," said Mrs. Cake. "What can I do for you?"

"As a matter of fact, we've come to see Pinkie Pie," Twilight replied. "My friend Ashley arrived here with somepony else, but got separated from him." She said, gesturing towards me. "We wanted to know if Pinkie had seen him anywhere."

"Well, I-"

"Did I hear someone speak my name?" A voice called, interrupting what Mrs. Cake had begun to say. Suddenly, a face popped out from the top of a staircase in the back of the room. It was a pink pony – no doubt the Pinkie Pie to which Twilight had referred. Her coat was a light pink, while her big, poofy mane and tail were a darker pink. Her eyes were a sky blue, and on her flank you could see the image of three balloons.

The instant she saw me, she let out an excited gasp of astonishment. Twilight leaned over towards me. "Brace yourself," she said.

I wasn't too sure what that meant, but I took it to heart the instant that Pinkie Pie had scrambled as fast as she could down the stairs to stand right in front of me. "Hi! You must be new here! My name is Pinkie Pie, though you probably already knew that since you were looking for me. Wow! Somepony new in town, and they've already heard about me! That's so cool!" She paused for a breath. "What's your name?"

I glanced at Twilight, who smiled somewhat sheepishly. I turned back to Pinkie. "My name is Ashley," I said, bracing myself for another stream of replies.

"Wow, that's such a nice name! I think I had a cousin once who was named Ashley. Or was it Ashton? Anthony?"

Twilight cleared her throat. "Sorry," mumbled Pinkie. However, she didn't look _that_ sorry.

When she was satisfied that Pinkie had stopped talking, Twilight explained, "We're looking for Ashley's friend, Cory. They were separated when they first arrived in Ponyville, and we were wondering if you've seen him."

"Oh, I _did_ see somepony walk by Sugarcube Corner not long ago. I didn't get to say hi to him, though," she added, a little downcast.

Hope flickered in my chest. "Was he silvery-blue?" I asked.

"Yeah, I think so."

I sighed with relief. "That's him," I said. "Which way was he going?"

"He was actually heading back towards the library," replied Pinkie.

"Oh, great. So we came all this way for nothing?" I asked, groaning inwardly.

"I'm afraid so," said Twilight. "I guess we'll just have to head back, then." "Thanks for your help, Pinkie," I added as we walked out the door.

"Goodbye!" Pinkie Pie and Mrs. Cake said unison. "Thanks for coming!" Pinkie called after us just before the door swung closed, shutting behind us.

"Well, that was a waste of time," I said. Twilight looked at me. "At least we know that your friend is safe." "Yeah, I guess it wasn't a _total_ waste of time" I replied.

We walked back down the road towards the library. By now, the sky was a dark purplish-blue color. The sun was completely set, and dozens of stars could be seen twinkling in the sky.

We walked in silence until we finally arrived back at the library. Just as we were about to open the door, it swung open to reveal Spike.

"Oh, Twilight, you're back!" He exclaimed. "I was just about to come get you. Silver Moon showed up at the doorstep, asking for you. I let him in, but you didn't show up for a while, so I thought I would have to go and look for you."

Just then, Cory came up from behind Spike. When he saw me, a look of joy and relief flashed across his face, followed by a rather forced stern look. I laughed nervously, stepping into the library. "Hey."

Cory sighed, his stern look vanishing. "I thought I told you not to try to fly before you were ready," He said, trying to sound upset at me. Twilight looked at each of us, confused. "Wait, _this_ is Cory?" She asked.

"Yeah," I said, puzzled by her reaction.

"We know him as Silver Moon."

I was now even more confused. "Since when did you two know eachother?" I asked Cory, somewhat accusingly.

"Whoa, calm down there. I've been here before, remember?" He replied.

I shrugged. "Whatever. I'm just glad I found you,"

Spike parted his jaws in a huge yawn. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to go hit the hay," he said sleepily.

"I think we've had enough exciting events for the day," Twilight agreed. She turned to us, "You two can probably sleep down here. I'll go get some sleeping bags."

I muttered by thanks, plopping down on the floor. I watched Twilight climb up the staircase until Silver Moon walked over and sat down next to me. "So, how do you like Equestria so far?" He asked. "Well, it's been interesting enough," I replied, grinning slightly. Silver smiled back. "I thought you might say that," he said.

Just then, Twilight came back with the sleeping bags, levitating them with a pink glow that I now realized was her 'magic'. _She _is_ a unicorn, after all_, I thought to myself. She set them down in front of me and Silver. "Thanks, Twilight," I said gratefully. "It's no problem at all," she replied, smiling. However, another moment, and she was yawning sleepily. "Well, goodnight," she said, turning back towards the staircase. "G'night," I murmured.

Rolling out my sleeping bag next to a wooden statue of a horse's head, I glanced around the room. The walls were lined with bookshelves containing hundreds of books of all colors and sizes. This was definitely the town's library. _I wonder why Twilight lives here_, I thought.

However, I soon found myself yawning. Climbing into my sleeping bag, I murmured, "Goodnight, Silver."

"Goodnight, Ash," he breathed in reply.

I soon felt the soft tug of sleep, and felt myself drift into a comforting, deep rest.


End file.
